Ikea’s new Oak Creek store awaits hordes of shoppers (VIDEO)

Mathew Rupprecht (left) and Eron Glugos, both of Lemberg Electric, check off the final items on their to-do list at Ikea’s new store in Oak Creek on Wednesday. The store, the 48th Ikea has in the United States opens to the public on May 16. (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

In just a week, an onslaught of shoppers will descend on Oak Creek, home of Wisconsin’s first Ikea store.

The Swedish retailer of furniture and home furnishings expects about 1 million visitors a year to its Oak Creek store. It all begins next week on Wednesday, when Ikea opens its doors at 9 a.m. The store’s parking lot will open even earlier that morning, at 5 a.m.

“We have received such a warm welcome from the Milwaukee-area, and we want to return the favor by welcoming our shoppers with food, fun and iconic Ikea products,” said Samantha Gravina, store manager.

Ikea’s store will have 50 showrooms and three model-home interiors, together displaying the 10,000 or so products the company has for sale. Ikea’s furniture and other wares tend to come packed in boxes and generally have to be assembled after being bought. The store also has a playroom for kids and a cafeteria.

Lighted arrows on the floor take customers on a meandering trip through the store’s showrooms. But navigating Ikea is still something of an expedition. The store provides customers maps — styled after a subway line — pencils, paper and a tape measure to figure out how products that looks good n a showroom will actually fit into a customer’s living room.

48: the number of storiesIkea has in the U.S., including its latest in Oak Creek. Worldwide, the company has 416 stores.

300: The number of employees Ikea has at its Oak Creek store.

300: The number of people Ikea’s in-store restaurant seats. Yes, meatballs are on the menu. Every day, Ikea shoppers eat two million of them.

293,000: How many square feet of space are in Ikea’s single-level store. The company’s property takes up 29 acres and includes a parking lot with 1,000 spaces.

4,716: The number of solar panels that were needed to cover the new store’s 225,000-square-foot roof. The array produces more than 2 million kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power 228 homes a year.